Chapter 8 – Malak.

Travelers conversed amongst themselves as they trotted along the Danann highway between Loegres and Port Zekson. The foot traffic on this particular stretch of paved pathway tended to consist of a few carriages, numerous groups of travelers banding together for safety, and the occasional exorcist on patrol. There was one such exorcist on duty right now.

"Sorry, 'scuse me."

Leo apologized as he weaved between an oncoming carriage and a group of travelers bound for Port Zekson.

"Oi! Where're you headed in such a hurry eh?" One of the travelers called.

Leo responded, "Exorcist training! I've been assigned to do a sweep of the highway and to make sure there aren't any daemons around." He blinked, turning around fully towards the travelers. "Say, you guys seen any on your way here?"

The group murmured amongst themselves. "He's an exorcist!" A girl exclaimed. Her mother hushed her.

The same man who had hailed him shook his head, his tone dramatically changing in an instant. "No, sir exorcist. Sorry for blocking yer way." He gave a deep bow.

Leo wildly shook his head. "Whoa there! Don't worry about it!" He gave an honest smile. "I've only been in training for a few months now, so I'm not even technically an exorcist yet." He looked sheepish. "Thanks for the info. Safe travels, all of you!"

The others smiled and waved, wishing the brave exorcist trainee luck.

Leo grinned as he trotted onwards, away from the group. He wasn't going to lie and say it wasn't nice being appreciated. Even if he wasn't the most adept exorcist. Far from it. The man tested out his gauntlet blade as he walked, flicking it out and in again to make sure the mechanism glided smoothly. Satisfied, he was about continue his patrol when he heard a vicious howl close by.

Definitely a daemon.

"Excuse me! Exorcist in training coming through!" He yelled as a group of travelers fearfully ran in his direction. The group parted for him like water, and he ran through, yelling his thanks as he sprinted in the direction of the howl.

The howl came again, this time much closer. Leo's eyes were drawn to a cave in the mountainside, a little way off the beaten track. He reached for his ever-present rifle slung over his right shoulder. With a few deep breaths, he clicked the safety off and ventured into the darkness.

He had to be careful. If he was cornered, he was dead. Malak-infused metal or not.

Ever so softly, the man edged his way carefully into the dark cave, keeping his rifle raised and his eyes moving. Another howl echoed loudly through the narrow tunnel, this time accompanied by growling of a different kind. The daemon was fighting something.

He turned the final corner and blinked as his eyes registered a strange sight.

What appeared to be a grey baby wolf of all things was putting up an impressive fight against a sizable pack of werewolf daemons, cornered at the very back of the cave. Leo blinked. He was pretty sure that wolves didn't naturally live in these parts.

Nevertheless, he wasn't going to stand by and let the daemons kill the poor animal. He raised his rifle and aimed at the forms in the dark.

He exhaled and fired.

The pup yelped in terror as his world turned into chaos. Flashes like lighting lit up the cave, each flash accompanied by a roaring crack that deafened its ears. Each time the cave flashed, it showed another daemon being struck by something unseen and dying in howls of agony. It was all the pup could do to curl up in a ball and whimper as the monsters fell dead around it.

Finally, silence fell.

The pup slowly uncurled and gazed around warily. All the daemons lay dead around him, bleeding from holes in their chests. Suddenly, a human came out of the shadows towards him. The pup began to growl warningly.

"Hey there, little buddy." Leo let out in a soft, tender voice.

The poor animal continued to growl and backed up away from him. Its rear brushed up against the back of the cave and the growling increased in fervor. It was cornered and terrified.

The man carefully considered his options. He would prefer not to have his neck torn out, but at the same time he also refused to leave an injured wolf pup alone. Suddenly, an idea formed in his head. Abruptly, Leo sighed and slid his back down the wall of the cave, seemingly uncaring of the wolf's presence and growls.

"What a time to be alive, wouldn't you say little guy?" He commented dryly, his voice echoing in the confines of the cave.

He noticed that the pup had stopped growling and was instead staring at him curiously. Encouraged, the man went on.

"It's been interesting for me too." He grinned. "I've been training to be an exorcist these past few months. I met this woman named Eleanor, and she really helped me out by getting my name to the leader of the Abbey. I used to know him. His name's Artorius."

He pulled out a few rounds from his pocket and started feeding them into his rifle. "Artorius let me join the Abbey, even though I said I didn't want to follow orders. That was months ago, and now Eleanor's been training the absolute shit out of me." He shopped reloading and chuckled. "It's been so damn painful, you couldn't believe."

He abruptly glanced at the wolf's wounds. "…Well, maybe you could. Sorry. Poor choice of words."

"Anyways," he continued, "I've been pretty good at learning everything she's been teaching me. She says that very soon I could be considered a fully trained exorcist orderly, sans a malak, of course." He sighed, leaning his head against the wall.

"…Despite how ready I am and how I have a decent amount of natural exorcist talent, the Abbey still refuses to give me a malak. They want me to enlist fully." He shook his head softly. "But if there's one thing I hate more than anything, it's being tied up."

He glanced at the wolf and showed the animal his gauntlet blade. "Still, I'm deeply grateful for all the training Eleanor's given me. I can kill daemons now, albeit with much effort. I've gotten mildly used to using this gauntlet blade, and it's already saved my life more times than I can count."

He pulled out a fresh round for his rifle from his pocket. The strange silver-tipped round glinted in the murky light. "Not only that, but I've managed to make my rifle here viable for killing daemons too! These projectiles are molded from malak-infused metal." He explained. "The gunpowder is a mix of flamestone and sulfur, while the casing is regular old metal. The actual bullet is what kills the daemons, so I have to make sure it's made up of as much malak-infused alloy as I can."

Leo took the rifle and cocked it, chambering a round, and slotted the last round in. "It's hard to get the metal, but I can get it here and there. The Army of Midgand sometimes has surplus malak-forged weapons, and with my status as 'friend of the Abbey,'" Leo pulled out an insignia-marked set of papers from his coat and showed it to the wolf, "I can purchase their weapons, and reforge the metal in them into bullets."

Leo gently placed his loaded rifle on the ground next to him, disarmingly, and clicked on the safety. He returned the papers back into his coat pocket and looked at the pup directly. "It's worth it though. To kill daemons. To make a difference in this world."

"The name's Leo, by the way. Leonex Davidson." He finished.

He took a good long look at the pup, who was staring back at him with shockingly intelligent eyes. Leo's eyes narrowed as the wolf wavered on its feet.

"Shit." He swore.

Forgetting all pretenses of casual conversation, Leo leapt to his feet and immediately made his way over to the pup, ignoring the harsh restarting growls. He grunted as the small wolf bit into his coat arm, viciously tearing away at it and cutting into the flesh underneath. He took the opportunity to dig through the distracted animal's fur. Copious amounts of blood coated his hands. Not good. This guy needed healing artes. And there was only one place he knew where to get those.

Suddenly, the growling and tearing stopped. Hesitantly, the pup let go of the man's arm, staring intently up at the human who wasn't harming it.

Cooing softly, Leo intoned to the wounded animal, "Stand still, okay?"

He proceeded to reach into his coat and pull out a few gels to slather on the wounds. As quickly as he could, Leo wrapped some sterile bandages around the animal's length to cover them. The animal whined in displeasure at the tightness of the bandages, but surprisingly seemed to have decided that this human wasn't doing it any harm.

Once he had finished, Leo gave the wolf a tentative pat on the head. "I want to help you." He intoned. "Will you let me?" He stared into those eyes. And surprisingly, the wolf blinked, giving a single tilt of its head. A nod. Leo's eyes were wide.

It understands me.

This was no regular wolf.

And then the pup gave up entirely, collapsing into Leo's hands. Evidently it had decided to entrust its life in its entirety to the stranger. Leo cursed. The animal had already lost too much blood. He fumbled with his weapon strap, shouldering his gun, and then hefted the wolf in his arms, heedless of the blood spilling over his coat.

Then, as quickly as possible, the man began to sprint back to Loegres.

Screams echoed throughout the capital as people saw the blood on Leo's arms and the wild animal he was bringing into the capital. Leo paid them all no mind, all his efforts concentrated on keeping pressure on the pup's wounds and on getting the wolf to Eleanor. She was the only one he knew who was able to use healing artes.

He could feel the animal's pulse slowing and hear it's wheezing grow weaker and weaker. Most worryingly of all, he could see strange purple particles start to accumulate around it like flies to a corpse.

He didn't know what they were, but they clearly weren't good news.

"Come on, little guy! Hang in there!" He yelled, speeding up as best he could. He sprinted up the stairs towards the Abbey headquarters.

The guards at the gate yelled in alarm as a delinquent civilian charged through the open doorway, utterly ignoring them. Leo ignored the ironclad footsteps following in pursuit behind him and shouldered his way into the headquarter barracks designated for praetors only.

He charged through the familiar halls and took the usual route to Eleanor's room, ignoring the incredulous whispers of bystanders. ("Is that Leonex Davidson?"). He finally skidded to a stop in front of Eleanor's room gasping for breath and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Eleanor! Wake the hell up!" He banged on her door with a free hand.

Suddenly, he froze, now held at spear point by panting guards. "You there! You are under arrest for trespassing in Abbey territory! State your name and purpose, NOW!"

The door behind Leo opened up abruptly and exorcist Praetor Eleanor Hume of the Abbey stormed out seething at the guards in her sleepwear.

"Fools! Do you not recognize him?!" She yelled exceedingly grouchily. "This is Leonex Davidson, official friend of the Abbey, who was granted orderly rank access to the Headquarters months ago! Furthermore, he is my pupil and was given express permission to be present in the praetor dorms. Why are you harassing him?!"

Leo shuffled around in his blood-soaked coat and pulled out his paperwork showing the insignia of the Abbey with a sheepish smile. "Sorry fellas; was in a bit of a rush today."

"O-oh," the guard that had spoken stammered, "I'm terribly sorry, Madam praetor! It was just, your pupil ran in so quickly and suddenly that-"

"-That you immediately jumped to conclusions. I understand." Eleanor sighed and collected herself. "It was all just a terrible misunderstanding." She summarized in a disarming manner. "Rest assured that I shall discipline my pupil appropriately. Thank you for your help. You may all go now."

The guards all smartly saluted the high-ranking exorcist and left promptly with their tails between their legs. That matter having been dealt with, Leo instantly whirled around and hefted the wolf in his arms in Eleanor's face.

"Eleanor!" He cried. "I need you to heal this guy, now!"

Eleanor blinked. "What? A wolf?!" She leaned closer over the raggedly breathing animal. Suddenly, she gasped when another purple particle buzzed over it. "…No! This wolf… is a lesser malak!"

"What? It's a malak?" Leo looked at the wolf in shock. "…What does that matter?"

Eleanor explained quickly, "When an untethered malak uses up all its powers, it turns into a daemon." She looked grim. "I'm afraid that the only way to prevent this process is to find a vessel for it."

Leo didn't hesitate. "I'll do it."

Eleanor's eyes widened. "What?! But Leo! We haven't completed your training yet!"

"But you said it yourself that I'm very close." Leo pointed out. "I can deal with the repercussions, I'm sure. Besides, the malak is, as you said, a lesser malak, so the shock wouldn't be as great as the malaks the Abbey normally gives to new recruits."

Eleanor hesitantly acquiesced. "…If you're sure, then I won't doubt your abilities."

Leo grinned. "Thanks, 'master.'"

Suddenly, Leo heard a whine. He glanced down to see the pup in his arms straining its neck to look at its savior. He met the pup's eyes and saw the message it was trying to convey.

It was asking, "Are you sure?"

Leo gave a determined nod to the pup. Promptly, the man looked back up at his teacher. "Tell me what to do."

Eleanor sighed and nodded. "First, you will need to give the malak a name. As this is a wild malak, that decision is completely up to you."

Leo looked down at the pup, still straining its neck to keep its eyes on its savior. He nodded. "This guy's name will be… Hawk."

The pup seemed happy with the choice. It relaxed its neck, letting its head roll back and closing its eyes in acceptance.

Eleanor nodded. "Okay. Repeat the words after me. O child of the fountain of creation, these vows we exchange."

Leo nodded. "O child of the fountain of creation," he recited, "these vows we exchange."

"May our purpose, resplendent, help purify this cursed world."

The wolf's blood dripped steadily onto the stone floor. "May our purpose, resplendent, help purify this cursed world." Leo closed his eyes as a brilliant blue sealing circle formed above him, the mana rushing vibrantly and unfamiliarly through his body.

"Remember this true name I bestow unto you." Eleanor spoke softly.

Leo gazed tenderly down at the unconscious malak in his hands. "Remember this true name I bestow unto you."

"Accipiter."

"…Accipiter." Leo whispered.

The binding lights hovering over Leo dissipated, the ritual complete. The wolf pup now known as Hawk vanished in a flash of green light and entered his new vessel, resting and recovering, his life fully saved.

Leo on the other hand, just stood there, staring off into the other side of the hallway.

Eleanor was concerned. Lesser malak or not, an exorcist's first binding was always extraordinarily tough on the body, and even subsequent bindings were still quite difficult to overcome, even for well-seasoned exorcists. She worried for his well-being. "Well? How do you feel?"

Leo was silent. Eleanor walked around him to his front, worried. Once she saw his face, she facepalmed. On cue, the man let out a very loud snore.

"How in the world…" She muttered as she shook her head in disbelief over her pupil. "Guard!" She called to the man stationed down the hall.

"Yes, ma'am?" The soldier asked as he made his way over.

She gestured at the man sleeping on his feet. "Carry my student over to the hospital wing, please. Let the doctors know that the man just formed his first pact with a malak."

The guard looked confused. "…Ma'am, if I may ask, I thought that the higher-ups had decreed that your student wasn't to receive a malak from the Abbey until he enlisted officially."

Eleanor sighed. "This idiot just made a pact with a free Malak he found in the wild. It's out of my hands now. Can you bring him there?" The guard nodded. "Thank you. Make sure to let the doctors know of his condition. I'm going back to bed."

"Will do, ma'am." The soldier responded respectfully and turned to the man sleeping on his feet, ready to carry him.

Leo let out a particularly loud snort. Both soldier and exorcist stared.

The soldier muttered under his breath, "How does a person…?"

Eleanor shook her head in wonder. "Believe me, that's a mystery not a soul in Midgand can solve."

Three days later, Eleanor found herself in the Abbey headquarters headed to a general body meeting for praetor-rank exorcists once again.

She sighed to herself, ruminating over current state of affairs in the world. The Abbey had been slowly gaining power and had been establishing outposts in major cities across Midgand, however there just wasn't enough recruits with ample resonance to be considered suitable for even the lowest rank of exorcist-orderly.

There was only a grand total of 30 praetors so far and all of them had been worked close to death trying to establish their own respective footholds and maintaining their own sectors. Recently, Eleanor herself had been assigned by Legate Melchior to patrol duty which meant she had to oversee both the entire process of eliminating and tracking daemons in certain sectors as well as keep tabs on any corruption in the ranks in those areas. It was tiring and unrewarding work, that was to be sure.

She shook her head. Complaining would do her no good.

All that mattered was that her work was part of something greater. It was crucial that such duties be maintained so that the Abbey could eventually be able to quell the rising tide of daemons and save the people of Midgand.

Already, the people of Loegres had come to fully recognize the exorcists of the Abbey as the saviors of the town. The exorcists' miraculous skill with the malakhim provided by the now-famous Lord Artorius was the stuff of legend. It warmed Eleanor's heart to see the masses so free of the worry that had plagued them half a year ago, before the Advent had changed everything.

She held her chin up proudly. She was a praetor trained by Lord Artorius himself, after all. She had to act like it.

"Madam Praetor!" She turned at the call as an exorcist orderly ran up to her and saluted.

She returned the salute. "What is it, orderly?" She asked.

The orderly nodded. "It's about your student, ma'am."

Eleanor sighed in relief. "Oh good. Has he recovered?"

The orderly shook his head. "Actually, apparently…" He hesitated. "According to the doctors the man has… disappeared."

Eleanor's eye twitched. "What."

The orderly stammered at the increasingly wrathful praetor glaring at him. "Y-yes. The nurse in charge of looking over him went away for a break and when she returned, the bed was empty."

Eleanor sighed. "Leo…" She muttered in exasperation. She turned back to the orderly. "I think I know where he went. Thank you for letting me know."

The orderly gave another salute and ran off.

Eleanor shook her head in disbelief and turned away from her original course. Praetor duties would have to wait. She had a student to yell at.

"Hey, hey, hey! Hawk! Quit it!"

Eleanor slowed as she approached the corner, hearing the voice of her student, awake and strong, laughing and yelling. She turned the corner and looked on with exasperation at the scene in the courtyard, one of the man's favorite haunts in the headquarters. Leo and his new malak Hawk were in the middle of a play-fight on the grass. It would appear that Hawk was winning the fight with strategic licks on the man's face. Leo was sputtering through the saliva, clearly being overpowered.

Eleanor's eyes narrowed as she noticed the bandages on her student's arms.

"Leo!" Her reprimanding call echoed throughout the empty courtyard.

Both man and malak froze, fight forgotten, turning around to look at the exorcist praetor furiously strutting through the grass towards them.

"Oops." Leo muttered to the wolf. "Busted."

Eleanor came to a stop in front of the two lying on the grass and put her hands on her hips, glaring down at them. "While I'm glad to see that you're alright after the vessel ritual, you should know better than to be out and about when your wounds haven't even healed yet!" Eleanor lectured heatedly. Leo scratched his head sheepishly while his malak's tail wrapped between his legs. "What were you thinking?!" She demanded.

Leo gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry Eleanor… it was just that this guy was getting restless cooped up in the hospital wing and wanted to go do something." He ruffled the wolf's head fondly, who leaned into the hand. Leo grinned. "This guy really hates sitting still." He remarked.

Eleanor remarked dryly, "Funny, just like his master." She sighed and then settled down on the grass across from Leo, bunching up her dress. She prompted, "So? How're you feeling, my disobedient student?"

Leo grunted as he sat up, wiping the last of the spit off of his face with his sleeve. Hawk, seeing that his master would be occupied, went off to trot around the courtyard, sniffing at the ground. Leo admitted, "I've been feeling really sick, to be honest. Even more than usual."

"More than usual?" Eleanor looked worried. "Are you normally sick? Why didn't you tell me this earlier?!"

Leo waved her concern off. "I have allergies."

Concern turned to amusement. "…Allergies."

"Hey!" Leo looked defensive. "Don't give me that. It's a perfectly legitimate medical disability." On cue, he let out a drawn-out sneeze. He groaned. "Not to mention," he sniffed, "it's the middle of fucking spring!"

God, I miss antihistamines. He muttered mentally.

Eleanor giggled at her student's melodramatic suffering. "Well," she analyzed, "it's normal to feel sick after a new bond with a malak. To be honest, I'm impressed with how well you've taken it so far. Clearly you're recovering well enough if you're able to give your doctors the slip." She gave the man a glare.

Leo waved her off nonchalantly. "Bah. Be careful there, 'Master.' One might think that you were actually expressing pride in me."

Eleanor gave serious nod. "Actually, yes. Not many new recruits, resonant or not, could go from where you were when we met six months ago to where you are today. Your ingenuity with your handheld cannon device in particular has made you a worthy exorcist even without a malak."

Leo ran a hand through his hair bashfully. "It's nothing too impressive, really… I've just had a lot of experience shooting things, before I came to Midgand. A daemon can just be relegated to another target, if a much, much scarier one."

Eleanor looked at him curiously. "Oh? Really? And what, might I ask, were you shooting before you came to Midgand?"

Leo choked as he realized his slip. "Huh? What was that?" He asked, looking around in confusion. "I swear I thought I heard something. Maybe I have something in my ears…"

Eleanor gave him a flat stare.

Leo grinned apologetically. He sighed, picking at the grass sheepishly. "Sorry Eleanor… You know there are some things I just can't talk about."

The praetor sighed in response, shaking her head at her pupil's insistence at keeping secrets. "You know how suspicious this constant reluctance to speak of your past makes you to people? I've heard rumors in the mess hall that Leonex Davidson is actually some sort of outlaw from a distant land. An infamous pirate king, long forgotten, arriving in Midgand to start a new life, free from his sinful past. A fifth pirate king, so to speak."

He blinked. "You're kidding."

Eleanor laughed. "At the very least, it helps explain how weird you are."

Leo clutched at his heart. "You wound me, madam praetor! And here I had thought I had you all fooled!" He clenched his eyes in gut-wrenching emotion. "I… I admit it! I am in fact, King Davidson the fourth, the scourge of the far continent! Now! Give me all your booty!" He brandished his gauntlet blade harmlessly in the air. "For I am the fearsome pirate king! The scourge of the seven seas! Arrrrggghhhh-!"

Eleanor cringed and plonked the back of her hand against Leo's forehead, cutting him off. "Never do that again."

Leo laughed, sheathing his gauntlet blade. "What! Not convincing enough?"

She shook her head in exasperation. "I'd have an easier time believing Bienfu was once a pirate king from the far continent. You're far too clumsy for such an occupation."

"What! Blasphemy!"

Eleanor deadpanned and pointed at Leo's boots. That were untied.

She dryly noted, "I swear, I thought you would've learned to tie your shoes by now, after all those times you tripped and fell during our training sessions."

He rolled his eyes, conceding, "Alright, point taken."

As her student tied his shoes, Eleanor sighed. "At any rate, you are aware that it's not in particularly good taste to joke around about pirates these days, are you not?"

Leo nodded soberly. "Yeah. The four major pirate kings, huh? Been giving the royal navy quite the run for their money, haven't they?"

Eleanor nodded. "The world's still in bad shape, despite it all." Her eyes drifted down with emotion. "Sometimes… I just wish we had more influence. The world would be so much better off if they just worked with the Abbey!" Her fists clenched at the futility of everything.

She looked up in surprise as her student reached over and gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Come on, chin up Eleanor. You're a new primus, aren't you?" Leo grinned, reminding her of her recent promotion.

Eleanor laughed, nodding. "I suppose you're right. I should begin to act like one, shouldn't I?"

Leo leaned back in the grass, nodding sagely. "Of course I'm right. I am your elder, of course. And everyone knows the elder is the more knowledgeable one."

Eleanor glared back at her impudent student. "Is that so? Want to prove your competence against my spear work?"

Leo coughed vaguely in response, casually glancing away. Eleanor let out a satisfied self-righteous hmph.

"Anyways," Leo shook his head and said, "That reminds me. I wanted to thank you. Seriously. This pup…" He watched with a fond smile as Hawk chased a poor butterfly on the other side of the courtyard, yipping happily.

"…I needed him." Leo breathed.

Eleanor looked at him in surprise. "You like him that much? While it was true that the Abbey wasn't going to be giving you a malak for at least a while, his malak power is still very low; nearly paltry compared to some of the greater malaks out there like Bienfu."

She shifted in her seat, analytically dissecting the malak's qualities. "He can't speak, and he isn't especially good even with fire, his specialization element. He might be useful as a training tool but… I can't see him being very useful in the future."

Leo's face grew hard. "He's not a tool to me." He stated firmly.

Eleanor's eyes widened in surprise.

Leo put two fingers in his mouth and let out a sharp whistle. On the other side of the courtyard, Hawk's ears twitched. He abandoned the poor butterfly in favor of sauntering back over. Leo's smile grew as he gave the animal a good scratch behind the ears.

"This guy's a friend." Leo intoned.

For better or for worse.

Eleanor watched the two, profoundly surprised.

"A… malak as a friend…" She whispered.

Leo sighed. "Keeping secrets like I do… it's not exactly conducive to friends here in the Abbey." He admitted. "Everyone knows that I've purposefully been keeping them all at arm's length, so they don't really get too close to me for me."

He glanced at Eleanor, "Except for you, of course. You and Bienfu are the only two souls I really know here in Loegres. Oh, and Oscar and Teresa too, I suppose." He shook his head. "But you're all praetors, always out taking ships and doing this and that, while I'm always here in Loegres, doing my usual training exercises."

Hawk whined as he butted his head up against Leo. Leo chuckled, continuing his scratches. "But now I have this guy. I won't need any other malak but him." He hugged the wolf. "He understands me too! He just can't talk back. Which is convenient, in a way." He grinned. "That means I can rant at him all I want, and he can't complain! It's very convenient."

Hawk gave a yip and gave his master a particularly slobber-filled lick square on the mouth.

"GAH!" Leo sputtered and spat in disgust. He scrambled to his feet after the fleeing malak, "You little bastard! Come here!"

Hawk let out a series of yips that sounded distinctly taunting in nature.

"Come back here you mutt! Let's see how you like being drenched in water!" Leo charged after his new malak with an open flask of water. Hawk stopped taunting and started sprinting for real.

The two charged out of the courtyard, yelling and yipping respectively, creating a huge ruckus in the hallways as they barreled through them.

Eleanor shook her head in exasperation, laughing at their actions. She calmed down and sat there, contemplatively.

"A malak as a friend. Not a tool..." Her brow furrowed. "Lord Artorius wouldn't approve…" She trailed off.

The antics of the pseudo-exorcist Leonex Davidson and his newly bonded lesser malak Hawk echoed throughout the headquarters of the Abbey, much to the dismay of the guards chasing after them.